When the dervishes first saw the locomotive they marvelled. Steam was beyond their comprehension. They believed stoutly that the engine’s boiler was packed with animals, and when the driver blew his whistle many fled in complete terror. To them the agonising shriek of the animal on wheels was more terrifying than the hail of lead from a Maxim gun. Indeed, it is reported that one chief, when he saw a locomotive puffing along slowly and laboriously with its load of cars, went so far as to assail the British officers for their callous cruelty in making so small a beast pull such a heavy, long load! The Atbara bridge, after fulfilling all requirements for eleven years, had to be reconstructed. It was not found strong enough to withstand the heavy loads of to-day, for on the Sudan railway weights, lengths and speeds of trains have increased strikingly during a decade. When overhaul became imperative, an English firm secured the commission to rebuild the American structure, and to-day there is nothing left of the bridge which provoked such acrimonious discussion at the time of its erection. Owing to the elaborate nature of the building operations a temporary bridge had to be thrown across the river to carry the railway traffic. When Khartoum was gained another pause was unavoidable owing to the necessity to cross the Blue Nile in order to continue southwards to Sennar. This arm of the great Egyptian river is fickle, for in times of flood it rushes along at some 11 miles an hour. The contract for carrying the railway to the opposite bank was secured by the firm entrusted with the overhauling of the Atbara bridge, and it is a noble work of its class. The river being navigable, facilities had to be provided to permit vessels to pass up and down. This end was met by introducing an electrically operated rolling lift span working like a drawbridge. To enable railway construction to be carried on while the river was being negotiated a temporary timber bridge was thrown across the waterway. While this was in progress the power of the waters rushing through this tributary when in flood was emphasised in no uncertain manner. A considerable quantity of scaffolding intended for the support of the steel bridge during erection was torn up and hurried down-stream. When Sennar was gained, a deviation directly eastward was made in order to gain El Obeid, which is the centre of the gum trade, one of the most prosperous and expanding industries of the Upper Sudan. Owing to its more convenient situation on the main river, Omdurman always has been the market for this article, the supplies being conveyed across country by camel caravan. It is generally considered that now El Obeid has been gained by the railway, that the decadence of Omdurman is certain, but though this may be inevitable up to a point, the town is always bound to command a certain position of importance inasmuch as it is the centre of a considerable pilgrim traffic.